Tumwater Thunderbirds, Seattle Seahawks going for titles

The headlines scream: Seahawks beat down Saints! Road to NFC title goes through Seattle! 12th Man celebrates loudest night ever! So that’s what it feels like to have a winning professional sports team. Hmmm.

So that’s what it feels like to have a winning professional sports team. Hmmm.

State of Washington fans are new to this emotion, having suffered through years of mediocrity in baseball. And basketball ... didn’t we used to have a team that won a championship 40 years ago?

But let’s not be grumpy. Our team has the best record in the National Football League and home field advantage throughout the conference playoffs. And with Russell Wilson, Richard Sherman and Beast Mode on the team, they’re dang fun to watch.

We haven’t had this much fun since coach Mike Holmgren led the 2005 Seahawks to their only Super Bowl visit – where referees inexplicably snatched it from our deserving hands. Obviously, we’re still grumpy about that.

On a serious note, the Seahawk nation should give thanks for owner Paul Allen. He not only saved the team when it was in danger of being moved, he’s also built an effective organization – and training facility – capable of achieving this level of success.

Allen clearly cares about Seattle and the Seahawks’ statewide fans. Now he’s showing other team owners how to care for the players, too. His foundation contributed $2.4 million for research projects into the long-term effects of brain trauma on young men who clash helmets for our Sunday afternoon entertainment.

Thanks to Allen, Seahawk fans have something to cheer about, maybe all the way to the Super Bowl in February.

We don’t have Paul Allen, but the Tumwater Thunderbirds have the winningest high school coach in state history. He will once again take his team to the state Division 2A football title on Saturday, where he has taken them six times before. The T-Birds won five of those championships, and may bag another one this weekend.

The Thunderbirds’ perfect season looks a lot like their professional brethren. Let’s hope both teams finish it off with a championship.